Among its provisions, the new law gives far greater visibility to HOA complaints. Change The Board also hopes the new bill will give lawmakers a framework on which to attach other much-needed HOA provisions in the future.

Below is a summary of major provisions of the new HOA law, labeled at present H.3886 (Act 245):

Most important: The state’s Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) will accept and record relevant complaints submitted by homeowners and HOAs, compile a report of complaints, and submit the report to the General Assembly and the Governor annually.

While the department does not serve as an arbitrator in disputes between homeowners and HOAs, they do engage in a voluntary mediation process in hopes of resolving a complaint.

To be enforceable, an HOA’s governing documents must be officially recorded, for example, in the register of deeds office in the county where the property is located, and the documents must be accessible to homeowners.

HOAs must give notice to its homeowners before adopting annual budget increases.

The new law gives magistrates jurisdiction over certain monetary disputes (those of only a few thousand dollars).

The SCDCA will establish an Internet site providing HOA-related information and educational materials for use by both homeowners and HOAs. ​

Property owners must provide a detailed disclosure statement to prospective buyers of their property.

Bill 3886 may fall far short of what homeowners need, but it does signal that the state recognizes that some of its estimated 1.2 million homeowners living in planned communities are displeased, even angry, with their state’s estimated 6,000-plus HOAs.

The law distinguishes between existing HOAs incorporated in accordance with the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act and HOAs that will be established in the future. Therefore, the old law and the new might best be read together.

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I support a much stronger HOA bill to protect South Carolina homeowners from an HOA’s breach of fiduciary duties and other forms of HOA negligence, mismanagement, and abuse that harm homeowners—considering that it is the homeowners themselves who pay the operating costs of their HOAs.